Re: leaving list/take it back

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Thank you, Hugh!

I have learned to delete rather quickly certain post-ers to the list. Don't
even read their stuff. Why? Because there is a difference between personal
attacks and debates. So often "discussions" on this list become personal
attacks. The discussion is lost or at least buried for a bit beneath
the name-calling, swearing, etc.. My disgust with this has nothing to do
with being "thin-skinned" or a "wimp," rather with limited amounts of time
to spend reading postings to the list and looking for interesting/stimulating
intellectual debate/concepts/theory/resources/ etc..

Sure. There are wonderful historic anthropological debates that became
quite personal. And, some of these are a delight to read. That is not
what the person leaving the list was put off by (or at least I think not).
The arguments posed on the list did not have the elegance, humor, exchange
that some of the historic debates have had.

I also do not think that any of this has to do with political correctness.
Why has "political correctness" become such a slur, anyway? There is
a large difference between political correctness and basic communication
and inter-personal skills.... but of course, in academia we lose, or
never have, these skills -- or some would have us believe.

I appreciate it that Hugh forwarded the message in the first place. And,
even more, appreciate his well expressed addition to this very silly
discussion.

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